Blue Mountain League
by Gigawolf1
Summary: Ash is going to a new league without May! Pokeshipping in later chapters!
1. The Battle Begins

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 1: The Battle Begins

"Welcome, to the final round of battles in the Hoenn League Championship! This battle consists of four trainers, paired together. Each team of two must take out both of their opponents before finally facing each other in a final showdown! Whoever manages to survive their team mate's attacks will win the title of 'Hoenn League Champion!'"

May sighed as she heard the announcer state the rules of the finals. After deciding at the last minute to join the tournament, she had been eliminated in the second round! This was mostly due to the fact that she used her Combusken, Munchlax, and Skitty in the first round. The experience her Munchlax received from the Grovyle had let it reach Level 29… During Round 2, she used Combusken, Bulbasaur, and Munchlax. Her opponent's Dustox had used Gust so effectively that her first two were knocked out quickly. When her Munchlax beat Dustox (which was already weakened), it evolved into Snorlax. Needless to say, she lost.

She was angry for a number of reasons, one of which was that the Dustox's Trainer was in the final. Another reason she was upset was because her brother was mad at her for losing in such an amateur way. And she was really upset because Ash had seen her lose. The only reason she had entered the tournament was to impress him, and all she ended up doing was make him see just how weak she really was! Brock had told her that he lost because his Charizard went to sleep the same way, but she was still upset.

Looking at his opposition, Ash grinned. His opponents, all three of them, had never revealed their names. He had done his research, and knew what each of them had. His 'partner' had a Gyarados, a Corsola, and a Seadra. She had only used those three and somehow gotten to the final. The pair across from him was more obvious about themselves. One of them had a Cacturne, a Chimecho, an Arcanine, and a Jumpluff. The other had Dustox, Seviper, Wobbuffet, Arbok, and Primeape. This wasn't much of a help to him, though, as each of the four were allowed six pokémon.

Max thought about what Ash had chosen. Since Ash had only six pokémon registered under the Hoenn League, he was forced to use Pikachu, Grovyle, Torkoal, Swellow, Glalie, and Crawdaunt. Concerned about how Ash would control the newly evolved Dark-type, Max asked around the day before about the behaviour of Crawdaunt. When everyone either wondered what he was talking about or cowered in fear, he took it as a bad sign.

Brock was easily the happiest of the group. He had dates lined up with the Nurse Joy's from Viridian to Cinnabar, the Officer Jenny's from Cherrygrove to Blackthorn, and had gotten the Sensational Sister's attention with his Marshtomp and Ludicolo… Around this time, a nearby Exploud whose trainer had just been knocked out in the previous round started using Uproar, effectively waking up the ex-Gym Leader.

Stepping back up to the microphone, the announcer breathed in to get ready. Exhaling, he noticed that all four competitors were on the battlefield, only waiting for the 'go-ahead.' So he gave them the message, loud and clear.

"Once again, welcome to the final round of the Hoenn League! Our four participants are about to battle… Get ready… BEGIN!"

The audience let out an awed sigh at the first four in battle: On one side it was Dustox and Jumpluff, and on the other, Glalie and Corsola. The battle had begun!

AN: It's short, but it'll be good! I promise!


	2. Decisive Battle?

Review Responses:

Lilangelchick: Here's the next chapter!

dbzgtfan2004: Of course! AAML FOREVER!

Ri2: Brock WAS dreaming, as noticed when he woke up because of Uproar. May sort of 'bribed' her way in, the competitors will be revealed this chapter, and May will leave the group at the end of Hoenn (maybe next chapter)

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 2: Deciding Victory?

May watched on as a trainer walked up behind her. Sitting in the stands, she didn't notice him trying to get through in the row above her. He had lost in the third round to Ash, in a very difficult battle for both trainers. His team, consisting of Swampert, Shiftry, and Aggron, had been unable to defeat Ash's. During that battle, Grovyle had gotten a lot of experience, Torkoal had learned Heat Wave, and Corphish had evolved. Corphish had learned Counter a while before the tournament had started, allowing it to finish Aggron off easily.

"Hi," he said to May. She turned, and saw that he was grinning at her. May was confused, as she didn't know him at all, except as one of the eight trainers who did better than her. She just blinked, so he decided to introduce himself.

"Sorry. My name's Brendan Birch, from Littleroot town," he said, bracing himself for when she would ask him about his dad. Which she did, being completely unaware that he didn't like people judging him on how his dad was.

However, she was able to soften the blow. "Are you Professor Birch's Son, then?" she asked. He nodded, and she replied, "Cool. I didn't know he had a son!" He just sat down beside her, deciding to watch the battle. He had been one of the trainers Max asked about Crawdaunt that hadn't responded well, and with good reason: As a child, his dad kept a Corphish in his lab. One day, while Brendan was playing in there, the Corphish had evolved, and had attacked him. He was afraid of Crawdaunt ever since.

Meanwhile, on the battle field with the important people, Ash was trying to think about what each person would use. 'My partner has two pokémon that have double-weakness to some of my pokémon, and one that has weakness to both Grass and Electric easily. That means she's a water trainer. My opponents have some strong pokémon: One of them has Cacturne and Arcanine, and his Chimecho and Jumpluff aren't too weak, either. That last one giving me the evil eye has used all but one of her pokémon, so maybe she'll be easier…'

Looking from her partner, to his pokémon, and back to hers, Ash's foe became worried. 'His pokémon has double-weakness to Ice, which is the twerp's first pokémon! What's he thinking?'

Meanwhile, her partner was thinking along similar lines, except he was concerned about her Dustox's weakness to Rock-type attacks. He, of course, knew of his pokémon's weaknesses, but had a plan that was almost unstoppable. His moveset of Sunny Day, Synthesis, Leech Seed, and Mega Drain would stop almost any trainer. Having always dreamed of playing fair, James laughed. Of course, his disguise fooled everyone in the pokémon world, but his laugh did concern them…

Ash's partner looked from her Corsola to Ash's Glalie to their opponent's pokémon, and wondered how stupid their foes could possibly be to use pokémon that couldn't win… Until she remembered that Corsola would take major damage from Grass attacks.

Even though nothing important has happened in Hoenn yet, in Viridian, something very bad was going down. The police force from Kanto had somehow just learned the location of Team Rocket Headquarters, and the base was being evacuated. Giovanni was getting in his private helicopter just as the Jenny's started infiltrating the gym. "Where should we go, sir?" asked the pilot.

'Hopefully those three imbeciles have managed to make a base in Hoenn like I told them to…' thought Giovanni, before saying, "To Hoenn. The only place the police wouldn't suspect me to be!"

And, of course, the battle had been started during this. Jumpluff had actually managed to use Sunny Day and Leech Seed before Ash realized an Ice Beam would almost knock Jumpluff out. Jumpluff had survived, but barely. Dustox, on the other hand, had been decimated by Ancient Power attacks from Misty's Corsola (once again, no one in the pokémon world knew it was her). By this point, Corsola had run out of Ancient Power PP, and had also been poisoned, so Misty switched it out for Seadra.

Jessie, angry that her first pokémon had lost so easily, sent out her newly-acquired Primeape (it's just like her, and since she was 2 good pokémon short…) while shouting, "James, let's beat the Twerp and get out of here!"

James, obviously angry about how Jessie had just revealed their identities (that everyone in the pokémon world was too pathetic to realize), he shouted back, "Jessie! Why did you just reveal our identities in front of everyone?" This was, of course, before he realized that no one had truly linked him to Jessie, or that no one really cared.

However, Ash got angry at being surprised by Team Rocket. "Team Rocket! You two couldn't have won enough badges to get in the league, so you must have stolen them!" Ash yelled angrily. Well, what he didn't know was that they had convinced Giovanni to give them badges through favours he had to call in from the Gym Leaders. Of course, no one in the audience cared, just as long as they got a good battle. So Misty decided to get everything going back on track by hitting them all on the head with a mallet.

"Someone has anger issues…" whispered Brendan to May, who just giggled like the girly person she is (as you can tell, I don't like her much…). Looking onto the battlefield, Max also wanted the battle to just continue. He was happy, because then Primeape tried using Thrash on Seadra, who poisoned the Pig Monkey Pokémon with its Poison Point ability, and then fainted from the Thrashing. Luckily for Misty, Primeape fainted because of its poison. Glalie and Jumpluff, however, were still in the battle.

"Nice battle, Twerp, but I'm stronger when I'm fighting fair! Never question my might again! Mwa ha ha ha!" laughed the powerful James of Team Rocket, who made a very good point to Ash: The male of Team Rocket was very good when he was playing fair. Ash just had to laugh, because Jessie hadn't figured out that fact by then. Then, James ordered a Leech Seed on Glalie, who quickly finished off Jumpluff with an Ice Beam.

This, for some odd reason, only made James happier. "By playing fairly, I've led you both into my trap!" he gleefully exclaimed. "Go, Cacturne! Sand Storm!" he shouted. As the Scarecrow pokémon emerged, Ash realized what James' plan had been: By weakening Glalie with Jumpluff, James had allowed Cacturne to have an easy shot at the pokémon that could easily be his most difficult foe. Ash barely had any time to react, because the Sand Storm and Leech Seed quickly knocked out Glalie.

On the other part of the battlefield, Jessie and Misty were battling with Gyarados and Seviper. Gyarados was using Hydro Pump and Seviper was using Poison Tail, as well as Poison Fang. Jessie and Misty were both yelling out attacks as quickly as they could when Gyarados just started using Thrash. Both Jessie and Misty groaned as Gyarados became poisoned, an almost exact reversal of their previous pokémon's fight.

Meanwhile, Ash and James were locked in their next great battle: Torkoal versus Chimecho. Cacturne, despite the Sand Storm, had fallen to a single Overheat attack. Chimecho started using Uproar, which kept everyone covering their ears in pain. Torkoal, on the other hand, just used Protect. Obviously, this battle was going to take a while.

Standings:

Ash-

Glalie (fainted)

Torkoal

Swellow

Crawdaunt

Grovyle

Pikachu

Misty-

Corsola

Seadra (fainted)

Gyarados (fainted)

Jessie-

Dustox (fainted)

Primeape (fainted)

Seviper (fainted)

Wobbuffet

Arbok

James-

Jumpluff (fainted)

Cacturne (fainted)

Chimecho

Arcanine

AN: Well, this was much longer… Thanks to those who reviewed!


	3. Destined Battle?

Review Responses:

Ri2: I edited the first chapter so it says Hoenn, Giovanni won't be at any hotel (he's vital to the BML), I'm mixing terms, both Misty and May used Gym Leader Connections to get in the league (which is what TR did as well), of course I'm right, you're right, he's saving Pikachu and Grovyle for her, and when James gets Chimecho, he briefly gets a Hoppip, which I'm saying came back thanks to the miracle of… Almost gave something away…

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 3: Destined Battle?

Ash was in a sort of paradise. He was winning the four-way battle, which meant his chances of defeating the Hoenn League were high. With only Glalie fainted, most of his pokémon were completely rested. He still knew two of both Jessie and James' pokémon, but only one of his partner's team. Knowing just what Torkoal could do, he decided to keep it in the battle.

Though Ash was having a decided victory, his partner was struggling. She had lost two of her pokémon to Jessie, and James wasn't as stupid as she had always thought. Thinking back to when James had almost beaten them while wearing a Moltres costume always made her laugh (he had thought he was like Moltres, but then found out it was a sham), but she now realized he was powerful when he had confidence without ego.

James had realized this some time ago, and was overjoyed by the way that 'the Twerp' had fallen for his plan. Over the years, he had used several different pokémon, none of which could beat Pikachu. When he got four of his pokémon he never thought he'd see again, he was ecstatic.

**Flashback**

Lying awake at night, James always tried to figure out how to get Pikachu. Thanks to this, he noticed a figure moving through the night.

"Are you James Morgan?" the figure had asked. Since James thought he was dreaming, he nodded. The person dropped four pokéballs beside the drowsy Team Rocket member and disappeared. He was amazed the next morning to find what they contained, and that the same person had visited Jessie a few days earlier and brought her three pokéballs.

**End Flashback**

Jessie looked at her remaining pokémon. She knew she would likely lose, but she knew something that had both scared her and made her happy at the same time: If she participated in the tournament, she would get to see an old acquaintance of hers. To her, the victory didn't matter at all.

In the stands, Brendan and May were getting to know each other a little better. Then they left the stands to get to know each other a lot more when Max asked May for some popcorn. At the popcorn stand, they talked about how they both got to the place they're at now.

"Well, my dad let me get a Mudkip for my tenth birthday, and then I went around facing the Gym Leaders. I didn't have many pokémon until I got to Dewford, where I caught my Aron and my Mawile. Before I could face Flannery, I captured Seedot and Zangoose. On my way to Mossdeep for my seventh badge, I found a Duskull. According to what you told me, I was entering a sort of Junior Hoenn League tournament with all eight of my badges at the same time the guy who beat me was in Slateport! Who would have guessed?" said Brendan as he laughed.

May found Brendan rather interesting, and felt something else as well…

Chimecho wasn't feeling too cool either. It was feeling hot, all right, but only because of the Flamethrower attacks. Even with its Special Defense being what it was, Fire-type moves were still very strong. Along with the fact that it was Burned, Chimecho was having a lousy day. Chimecho muttered some things under its breath as Torkoal used Overheat. As Chimecho fainted, Ash and James both smirked.

James wasn't in the least bit disturbed. "Good job, Chimecho! You got him weak enough!" encouraged James as the Wind Chime Pokémon went back into its pokéball. James then released his…

"Gyarados? Since when do you have a Gyarados?" shouted Ash. Then he remembered years ago, when he, Misty, Brock, and Team Rocket were stuck on the sinking S. S. Anne. James had had a Magikarp, and after escaping, it had evolved. Ash thought he had it figured out until he remembered that it had only evolved after James had kicked it, and that Gyarados had used Dragon Rage on all of them. Including Team Rocket.

While James had Ash confused (not a large accomplishment), Misty and Jessie were in their own battle. Thanks to the rules, however, Gyarados' appearance affected all battlers except James. Misty had sent Corsola back out against Jessie's Wobbuffet. The battle went something like this: "Water Gun!" says Misty, "Mirror Coat!" says Jessie, "Mirror Coat!" says Misty, and so on until the attack was so strong it wiped them both out. Leaving both trainers stunned at the outcome, the battle was amusing to the spectators until they were hit by it as well. Misty then sent out Politoed to combat Jessie's Arbok.

James had his Gyarados use Earthquake to eliminate Torkoal. Much to the enjoyment of those watching, it also wiped out Arbok, and did serious damage to Politoed. Then he had to endure Jessie yelling at him about "How could you be so stupid? With Arbok fainted, I only have one pokémon left!" Of course, James had a top priority: defeating Ash. Or, as he and Jessie would say it, defeating the Twerp. He watched carefully as Ash sent out Swellow.

Jessie was forced to use the most horribly evil pokémon in the world just then: Vileplume. She hated Vileplume for many reasons, including that the evil Jessibell had one. 'Vileplume will kill me one day,' she thought, 'And on that day I'm going to go down fighting. Today, though, it'll help me!'

Politoed tried using Blizzard, but Vileplume used Sleep Powder before the attack could be launched. When Vileplume used Sunny Day, Misty thought Politoed was a goner. She knew it when Vileplume launched Solar Beam. Withdrawing the frog, she sent out her Psyduck. Psyduck looked around, then yawned. Jessie laughed until she saw the big pink bubble. When Vileplume was hit by Yawn, it became incredibly drowsy, and struggled to keep its eyes open.

Gyarados tried a Blizzard, which hit Swellow easily enough. Ash let out a cry as his Swallow Pokémon was Frozen. Misty was barely affected by it, and Psyduck completely ignored it. Psyduck held its head, though, making everyone think it was hurt. Misty though it had a headache, and though she was close, she was still wrong. In reality, Psyduck was releasing a strong glow, one that was a brilliant white.

Vileplume woke up at this time, and was the first to realize what was really happening. As the audience watched, Psyduck let out a load cry of "Psy……… DUCK!" As it said 'DUCK!' it began to grow. As it grew, it used Psychic on Vileplume, knocking out the Flower Pokémon unconscious and forcing Jessie out of the tournament.

James and Ash stood in awe of the duck. After all the times Misty had been mean to Psyduck because it hadn't evolved, it had finally become Golduck. Ash saw Misty bend over to look at something, then heard her yell. "YOU MEAN PSYDUCK WAS HOLDING AN EVERSTONE EVER SINCE I CAUGHT IT?"

This was more important to Misty than the fact that she beat Jessie. Most took her yell to be one of annoyance and anger, but it was really one of bewilderment. She and Jessie both turned to watch James and Gyarados knock out Swellow with another Blizzard. When Ash sent out Crawdaunt, a cry of fear went up as several people fainted in fear.

Crawdaunt immediately attacked Gyarados with Crabhammer, which scored a Critical Hit. Gyarados looked around, roared… And fainted. James gaped at his defeated Atrocious Pokémon. Crawdaunt then went on to attack James. The Rocket sent out his Victreebel in his defense. Luckily for him, he managed to Poison Crawdaunt. After struggling, the two knocked each other out.

"Listen, Twerp, and listen good! I'm down to my last Pokémon, and he's also my first! Let's battle, my Growly against your Pikachu!" James shouted. Ash responded by saying, "Go, Pikachu!" The two went at the battle amid the cheers of the crowd. Everyone watching was astounded.

May and Brendan finally got back to the stands in time to see Pikachu stare at an Arcanine with respect. As they sat, Brendan looked up to see exactly who was supposed to be there. Both May and Brendan completely ignored Max as he asked things like, "Where were you? You missed the best part!" and "Weren't you wearing that shirt, May?"

Looking down, he saw Brendan. All was according to plan. 'Good,' he thought, 'when the battle is over, the winner will… Oh, I forgot the popcorn!' He quickly rushed off to get a bucket of popcorn.

Meowth was bored. His friends had both joined the tournament, and had somehow managed to reach the finals. No one was more surprised than he was, because he had been told by both of them that they had entered. Jessie hadn't even realized that James was in the tournament until they had both called Meowth from telephones right beside each other before the finals. So, deciding that today would be the ultimate day to capture Pikachu, Meowth brought the balloon over the stadium.

Arcanine used Extremespeed and Pikachu used Quick Attack. Striking each other, they both winced at the pain. As they landed, neither was knocked out, but Arcanine was paralyzed. Pikachu then used a Thunder to effectively wound Arcanine. The dog was stunned when Pikachu used Iron Tail to end the battle, as was everyone else who understands type advantages. Ash then turned to Misty, still not knowing it was she, and said, "You're next!"

AN: Long, I know, but I want the Hoenn League to be over before says it's even begun in Japan. Next Chapter, the League is out of the way at last, and the story can truly begin!


	4. The Battle Joined!

Review Responses:

Ri2: You're always a step ahead of me! At the end it mentioned everyone was startled, they only made out, he's not that important, that'll be explained later, I know, and he's just stupid.

Joanne Beverly: Thanks! ☺

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 4: The Battle Joined!

The announcer watched the battle in total awe. The four-way battle had been so interesting that no one had realized (or cared) that there was no play-by-play. Much more important was the immense struggle that had taken place, leaving each trainer with only two pokémon each. As Ash stared down Misty and vice versa, everyone ignored a cloaked figure eating popcorn approach the announcer's booth.

Pikachu and Golduck stared each other down with envious respect. Golduck started speaking, and Pikachu was captivated by the sudden flow of knowledge. Golduck told a tale of how it had been sent by the mighty Ho-oh to guide the Chosen One through his destiny. For his destiny to be achieved, Golduck and Pikachu had to join battle. As Pikachu wasn't one for riddles, it used Thunder on Golduck. The attack would normally knock out the Duck Pokémon, but it had dodged easily.

Ash was astonished by Golduck's evasive skills, but was no where near as shocked as Misty. She had no idea that her pokémon had crossed time to enter in the present and coming battles. She thought she actually had a chance of winning, until she remembered that Pikachu was still faster and stronger. Still, even with the Electric Mouse Pokémon's immense Speed, it was a tough battle. But finally, Pikachu used a successful Thunder. Golduck said, It was good to face you as an equal, old friend… before fainting.

Pikachu was perplexed by the statement, and expressed it with a small squeak. Misty quickly sent out her Luvdisc, which proceeded to Blizzard. This froze Pikachu, and Ash decided to switch to Grovyle so he could have some experience. Luvdisc then took another look at Ash, and used Surf to go between Ash and Misty. Ash's reaction was one of confusion, while Misty's was one of shock. Fortunately for her, Grovyle took that chance to use Leaf Blade to wipe it out.

The announcer looked beyond his gag at the figure who had tied him to the chair. He heard his voice over the speaker. "And the winner of the Hoenn League is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town! I must ask those trainers who participated in the final round to go to their respective change rooms to await the official ceremony celebrating the victory!" Then he left the room. It would be several hours before the announcer was discovered.

As the four tried to leave the field, someone looked up as Meowth used the extendo-arm to grab… Pikachu. The cloaked guy looked up, whispered, "I have no time for this," sent out his Charizard, and ordered "Blast Burn!" The attack destroyed the balloon, sending Meowth hurtling like a living meteor towards the wall between the male and female change rooms. Then the roof turned into rubble, making a make-shift ceiling over the new room.

All four finalists raced towards the ruins, only to find that the grey cloaked figure had used his Alakazam to get there, and was waiting for them. "Ash Ketchum, Champion of the Hoenn Region and the Orange Islands. Jessie and James, members of Team Rocket, supposed to be making the Rocket Base of Hoenn. And Misty Waterflower, Cerulean City Gym Leader. Congratulations on making it this far, Ash. As the only one who actually worked to get this far, I cordially invite you to come to an Elite League, only accessible to the strongest and noblest of trainers. Here is the map to the entrance. Have a nice day," he said without waiting for any responses.

As the four gaped, Meowth popped out of the rubble and asked, "What was dat about?"

Ash just turned and said, "Misty? How did you get here?" Misty responded by putting her arm behind her head and blushing.

**Later that Night…**

"You're leaving?" asked Ash. May had announced that she and Brendan were going off on a training journey together. They had an unexpected (or perhaps very expected) companion named Drew, who honestly didn't like Brendan Birch. The three had chosen to go on a tour of the Kanto and Johto regions. Max had been shocked more than anyone else to hear this. He had been quieted by an arrangement to get him a legal pokémon: the Ralts he had befriended.

Max and Brock decided to go on a trip back to Petalburg. They agreed on the long way, Max to pick up Ralts, Brock to pick up girls (as if!). The groups left Ever Grande on their respective boats. Ash and Misty were left to examine the map. They looked at each other, and then nodded. They had the same thought: On to this strange Blue Mountain League.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was watching carefully…

AN: Kudos to who have information on the anime up to Episode 400! BTW, Max is the anime version of Wally. He promises to become a Ralts' trainer in one episode. And now that Hoenn, May, Max, and Brock are out of the way, it's on to the Blue Mountain League! Stay tuned!


	5. The journey Through Space and Time

Review Responses:

Ri2: Stop getting ahead of me! (Chapter 1 review) No. (Chapter 4 reviews) Ho-oh is Ash's guardian, it should be obvious, I assume you are referring to the cloaked figure, Wally equals Max, yes it's starting, and Ash is very, very stupid.

Generic Reviewer: I'm not really bashing May. All I've done is remove her from the focus of the story.

Joanne Beverly: Thanks again!

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 5: The Journey through Space and Time

Ash and Misty followed the directions on the map from the waterfall in Ever Grande. Finding the small cave situated behind the torrent, they clambered inside. Following the twerps was Team Rocket. The three of them had to follow at a distance, and when they got to the cave, they found an opening that was obviously too small for any of them to enter. However, as they tried anyway, they found that it was much larger than it first appeared. "It feels like it opened up to let us in. I don't like this," whined James. He had been ignored, but a figure on top of the cliff overlooking the sea heard him just fine, and climbed down after them.

As Ash and Misty walked through the cavern, they saw many a wondrous site: Fossils of Kabutops, Omastar, Armaldo, and even Cradily. Truly astounding was the perfectly preserved Aerodactyl swooping down on an Omanyte and ancient Slowpoke while a Pidgeot and Arbok looked on. "That's all, folks," whispered Ash to himself, thinking about the song that had made it easy to remember the names of most pokémon. Misty looked at him with an annoyed stare, and he stopped. They had both been wondering where they were, but neither had wanted to ask.

Team Rocket, however, was more than willing to ask anyone they came across where they were, or where they were headed. Unfortunately for them, there were only five people in the cave. As they slowly moved through the tunnel, they also saw the fossils. Meowth would never tell anyone that he had been sure that the remains of long-dead pokémon had been watching him. He thought no one would ever believe him, and that it was only his imagination. Little did he know that, while he was right in thinking that no one would ever believe him, the fossil pokémon _had_ been watching him…

A lone figure stood at the entrance to the cave. The passage to Ever Grande had been a long one, but he had done it: He had managed to dig from the mountains straight into Hoenn. An accomplishment like that had to be rewarded, and so he took out the berries from his pack and ate four Watmel Berries. The juice was so good he just had to grin, but then he heard some noises in the cavern. He quickly put away the Watmel Berries, washed his face, and stood in a dominating way over the hole in the ground. He looked into the darkness, and gasped.

Ash and Misty were grumbling and moaning from their struggles in the tunnel. They had been forced to climb rocks, pass chasms, and work together, just to find that they had taken the wrong path. They had also been forced to go back the way they had come, and just barely missed Team Rocket. As they emerged from the hole in the ground, they heard a gasp. Looking up, Ash accidentally let Misty drop back down into the cave. He shouted "Misty!" before dropping back into the darkness. "Don't worry, Misty, I'm coming! I landed on something soft…" he yelled before realizing the 'something soft' had been Misty. The figure just listened, as an act of incredible violence was committed in the dark.

Team Rocket was not far behind, and was almost in the chamber below the hole when Misty's yelling caused a cave-in, effectively forcing Jessie, James, and Meowth to take the long way. They had no idea that they were being followed, or that the man following them just pushed the few boulders out of the way and entered the chamber as Ash and Misty were leaving it for good.

"Hello. My name's John. Welcome to the Blue Mountain Range! You look tired; you must have gotten lost. You have no idea how many people have become lost in there!" he said without wanting a response. He needed to get them out of there, **NOW**, before he had a chance to get out and ruin everything.

"Hi. My name's Ash Ketchum, and this is Misty. I'm from Pallet Town, and this is my pokémon… Hey, where's Pikachu?" Ash had quickly turned from excited to worried. He looked over John's shoulder to see the Electric Mouse Pokémon, sleeping. 'Must have gotten ahead of us somehow,' he thought.

"My job is to make sure everyone who comes here gets to the first town. The main problem is that many people here aren't exactly, well… They aren't very welcoming. Most of them think that, since outsiders have a tendency to try to capture the rare pokémon, they shouldn't come here. Even though all of them came from elsewhere…" said John, still wanting desperately to get away from the hole in the ground.

When Team Rocket finally got out of the cavern, they saw that the boulders had been moved since they had been there last, which was around an hour earlier. As they left the cave, they saw a brightly lit road leading into the night, and so they followed it until midnight, when a Noctowl used Hypnosis to put them all to sleep.

AN: Ah, finally in the Blue Mountain Range. Soon, the League will begin! If you want to know more about this place, read the prologue!


	6. A journey Towards Fate!

Review Responses:

Ri2: Ho-oh has watched over Ash since he started, you're wrong, and read the prologue to understand who John is.

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 6: A journey Towards Fate!

As John led Ash and Misty through the mountain passes, they tried to understand where they were going. All Ash knew was that they were in this place so that he could enter the League that was supposed to be there. Oddly, they had not seen any towns or signs of human life for about an hour, though they had passed by many pokémon. This would normally make sense, but all the ones they had seen were rare.

Ash knew that this region was supposedly filled with many rare species, as he had been told before starting his journey here, but there were so many more than he had first thought. He had expected to see the occasional Mankey in this forest, but he had seen many Rhyhorn and Rhydon instead. Of all the things Ash had hoped to see, the Rock/Ground-types were much rarer. He looked at Pikachu, who was keeping up though tired. The Electric Mouse Pokémon had been feeling drowsy since emerging from the hole.

Team Rocket was tired from the cave as well, but for a different reason. They were tired because the three of them had gone through a long side passage. They had, however, managed to get back on the trail of the Twerps. Exhausted, all thoughts of capturing Pikachu were gone from their mind. All they wanted at that moment was food. And some sleep in a nice warm bed. An idea was formulating in James' head. He knew that no Pokémon Center would let them steal food, so he thought of the other end: What if they asked? He knew that every Nurse Joy would give out food to the needy. 'And we're as needy as can be,' thought James bitterly.

Far behind, the mysterious man followed Team Rocket towards the Pokémon Center. His very presence would send any intelligent trainer into a fit of rage. You see, he was so hated that no one in their right mind would have accepted him in their home. Though his son was a mighty trainer, he was a hated foe of the founder of this league. As such, he would be hunted down and shot upon being identified. Up ahead, he could see someone. Actually, he saw two other people as well. You see, through an odd twist of fate, Jessie and James ended up ahead of Ash and Misty. It was either a twist of fate, or John's careful planning.

Now, though no one had seen their detour, Ash felt that eyes had been upon him the whole time. Though most of the forest had been covered in shadows, he noticed that Misty had also seemed uncomfortable. When John finally took them to the path that led directly from the cave they started from to the nearest town, Ash and Misty became worked up in an immense rage.

"You mean to tell me we walked for hours just to get a couple of miles?" asked Ash angrily.

"I was just giving you the scenic route…" replied John in a meek voice.

"I should break your arm for thinking I could stand such a long walk!" shouted Misty. The Scyther and Pinsir that had inhabited the route and had made as if to slice her and crush her into a million little pieces had angered her. In reality, they had major issues, and only wanted to be her friend. Though in the case of Scyther, the two ideas go hand in hand. Such a creature is so fearsome to those who are not afraid of bugs that you could only expect Misty to run screaming for almost two whole minutes. It was mostly for that reason that they had reached the Center just a few minutes after Team Rocket did.

Entering the Pokémon Center, Ash and Misty were still quite angry. However, their quarrel with their guide was soon forgotten.

"Hello, and welcome to our humble little Center. You may stay in… John?" said Nurse Joy in shock. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me…" John replied, embarrassed. He blushed and rubbed his head.

"You know him?" asked Ash with astounding naivete. Though it would be normal for any regular person to see, Ash was somehow unable to comprehend that Nurse Joy knew Ash.

"Of course! He's only the Champion of the Blue Mountain League! You'd be hard pressed not to find anyone here who doesn't know him!" she said cheerfully. At this, both Ash and Misty regretted being so harsh to him.

Blushing further, he said, "The founder sent me to get them,"

AN: If you read the prologue, there could be a major spoiler in the upcoming future… Don't miss out!


	7. A League of Danger!

Review Responses:

Ri2: I finally had something you couldn't predict, no he's not, yes they do, no he's not, and that's just the beginning…

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 7: The League of Danger!

Since Ash and Misty knew that John was the Champion, he had to tell them everything.

"Well, the Blue Mountain Range was discovered by the founder. He had started off on his pokémon journey when he accidentally discovered a path leading here. He explored the region and then sealed the entrance. Years later, I was fighting my rival in the cave with the entrance. We broke down the barrier and I was lost in the caves. When I got out, I met the founder, who had since become rich. He had many pokémon, and he used them to construct most of the structures here. So, of course, when the league began, he invited me right away. In fact, now that this place is up and running he gives out most of the invitations personally. Recently, however, he's been laying low."

Jessie, James, and Meowth overheard the entire thing. They were listening from their room in the Pokémon Center. Jessie and Meowth had conceded to James' plan. Little did they realize that there was a man listening to the same conversation from an air vent. He remembered what had been revealed to him between the time the Founder sealed the Entrance and when John had stumbled upon it. He had found several facts, which were confusing, and knew that the whole story was yet to be revealed.

"Later, after the founding of the league, several strange things were discovered," John continued. "In some areas, the pokémon are completely feral. And in the more remote regions, several people claim to have seen strange creatures, similar to pokémon but somehow different. This region is going through dark times, and the more people that come, the easier it will be to keep this place stable. At least, that's what the founder says."

"What do they mean by strange creatures?" interjected Ash. He had only ever experienced pokémon, and knew no myths or tales of horrible creatures that go bump in the night. He also had no way of knowing that the horrible creatures were not wandering around in the safety of the night, but roamed freely through were they could be contained to. John just looked at him with a pitying look. Misty, on the other hand, once had such horrible nightmares that she knew what sort of monstrosities could have arisen. She could only shiver subconsciously, as she herself had no reason to fear. But these monsters aren't important to Ash's journey through the Blue Mountain League, so we can ignore their horrible powers for now.

After all that had supposedly been cleared up, the three trainers left to get Ash the necessary badges to complete his goal of becoming the new Champion. John decided to explain how the league worked. "Unlike most leagues, the actual gyms are hard to find for the most part. There are only three of them, though. The gyms themselves change in building plans or location from time to time. Aside from the League, there is also a series of five Dojo. Each Dojo specializes in the Fighting Pokémon with secondary types, like Heracross. Due to the extremely odd nature of Fighting Pokémon, all dual-type pokémon that are Fighting are related to the others of that secondary type. Like Combusken and Blaziken," he stated. And don't worry, he thought, the confusion affected many. Little did Ash or Misty know that the most insidious human in Kanto was following them…

AN: To quote Patrick Star, "The Mysteries of my mind are an enigma…" Of course, in his case, he has no inner mind to speak of. Or outer mind. But other than that, his line applies to me.


	8. Path of Danger

Review Responses:

Ri2: Neither the Founder nor the Cloaked Guy have any genetic relation to Ash… One can say Misty has a relation to him, as a friend… The monsters are for the sequel I'm thinking about, the prologue will have information about how everything changes around, and no, the five dojo will not be important. Only the gyms, and the elites. However, he will meet pokémon and representatives from these, to sort of fill the world with my touch…

Naturesunicron: Take it slowly, alright? May isn't gone forever, and I'm thinking about mentioning her again (with humour, as to her new journey).

Blue Mountain League

By Gigawolf1

Chapter 8: The Path of Danger

One man outside of those who had been led to the tunnel had any idea it was there, and he was shown the way when three of his tracking devices disappeared near Evergrande City. His helicopter pilot landed right beside the entrance, and Giovanni entered the tunnel. He looked at his GPS system, which showed him that he was right under where Evergrande was supposed to be. However, expanding his map, he found only three traces of any tracking devices.

'Must be out of service…' thought the ex-head of Team Rocket. He began to call his helicopter to tell them to follow him in, but all he got was static. Unable to tell what was happening, he continued through the path. He followed the same route as his underlings, hoping to find someone who did not know him.

**Meanwhile…**

"So, where's the first gym? I want to get the badges! Which gym is closest?"

John stopped walking just long enough to tell Ash of the closest gym. "The first gym is near a small town in an isolated area. To get there, you may want to be extra careful. The Gym Leader likes to put all sorts of difficult traps everywhere. Also, she likes to use two pokémon at once."

This piqued Misty's curiosity. "What type of pokémon does the Gym Leader use?"

"That's the beauty of it! No one knows for sure! Each Gym Leader is allowed to change their team at any time, except during an actual battle! When I faced her, she used basic combinations and very small pokémon. Of course, that was before she became the Gym Leader she is now… I hear her pokémon have evolved a little bit more."

Both of them looked at John with interest. All gyms, save the ones in the Orange Islands, that they had encountered always had some preferred type of pokémon. The thought of a gym without types was almost unheard of to the pair, but Ash felt up to the challenge.

"Alright! On to the first gym, and the first badge!" "Pika!"

AN: Sorry about the wait of… Almost a year? I hadn't realized it had been that long… Well, this chapter is finally up, and I'm now getting back on track.


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